“It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (KJV)
When we began 2019, I used the above scripture in our January-February newsletter, and I used the quote that is below from a devotional book I had been reading. I don’t usually repeat newsletter articles, but I thought it would be a good spiritual practice to begin each year reflecting on God’s faithfulness and compassion over the past year. It helps us think beyond our problems of today and take a longer look at our life and see how God has actually worked closely with us through unexpected problems, sickness, or stressful issues. For Linda and me, 2019 was filled with unexpected events and challenges just like 2018 had been that I wrote about last year.
As I reflected on each of those events of 2019, I was suddenly overwhelmed with how God had been so faithful to us and had walked with us through unexpected and difficult times, He not only walked with us, but He provided unexpected miracles of friendship, encouragement, gracious help, and compassionate prayer partners. His promises and faithfulness certainly held true for us. I read a devotional book last year that Cathy Harris had given me for last Christmas. I plan to read through that book again this year. The title is “New Morning Mercies” by Paul David Tripp. The author explains why he used that title. It is based on the well known scripture above and the better known hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided -
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!
The author’s goal is that the reader will experience God’s mercies in a new way each day and recognize that those mercies are present and never fail us. He puts it this way:
"One of the stunning realities of the Christian life is that in a world where everything is in some state of decay, God’s mercies never grow old. They never run out. They never are ill timed. The never dry up. They never grow weak. They never get weary. They never fail to meet the need. They never disappoint. They never, ever fail, because they really are new every morning. Form-fitted for the challenges, disappointments, suffering, temptation, and struggles with sin within and without are the mercies of our Lord.
"God’s mercies don’t come in one color; no, they come in every shade of every color of the rainbow of his grace. God’s mercies are not the sound of one instrument; no, they sound the note of every instrument of his grace. God’s mercy is general; all of his children bask in his mercy. God’s mercy is specific; each child receives the mercy that is designed for his or her particular moment of need."
David Tripp’s words are reminders to us that God’s mercies will never fail us. Many times we have to work at seeing those mercies and understanding them, but they are there and specifically designed for us by God himself. Join me in prayer that each one of us will experience God’s new mercies each morning and each day during this new year that is just beginning.
David Brock
David loves being with people and greatly enjoys serving as pastor of Spiceland Friends Church. He and his wife, Linda, enjoy spending time with their three grown children and their grandchildren. David is also a full-time attorney. David likes to say that his job description is simple - it is like a pizza delivery person - deliver a hot, fresh sermon each week in LESS THAN 20 MINUTES! Actually, he does a few more things at the church, but his focus on the pastoral team is preparing a Sunday morning message that makes the scripture relevant and applicable to our lives.